Emma goes to the zoo

First of June was the first day of the school holidays. I was invited to join Emma and her parents for a day at the zoo. It has been a long time since my last visit to the zoo, and spending time with Emma has always been fun. So I went with my camera and packed some sandwiches as well. Unfortunately the sandwiches turned bad when we tried to eat them. So much for the Swissbake bread which I only bought on Saturday, two days ago.

The boat ride was nice and Emma had a picture taken with the Captain. The water was green as we sailed past some migratory storks taking a rest transiting through. Ah Meng's tomb looked majestic among the lush greenery. Docking at the Kids' World, we got off to see the rest of the zoo.

We encouraged Emma to ride on the pony. But she was hesitant and when we got nearer to the stables, she was completely put off by the strong smell of the animals. She nearly puked when I saw her running away with her hand covering her mouth. The ponies and goats attracted her attention and she managed to get quite close to them.

Next to this was a dilapidated model of a kampong house. Emma went in, took one look at the woman sitting on the sofa, and bolted out fast. She was frightened and upset at the sight and thought she had seen a ghost.

When I went in to see, I was aware that the wax figures looked like corpses. While the intention was good, the exhibit was badly done. There was a man in pyjamas standing on top of the sink which defies explanation. Emma was so badly shaken that she nagged her mother not to take her inside again. We all tried to calm her down but she kept referring to that 'house'.

Lunch stop at KFC and Emma still complaining about that 'house'. Anyway she was still jovial and fun loving as she went with her father for the carousel ride.

The seal show was very entertaining. Emma sat in front just behind the glass panel protecting her from the splashing water. There were penquins, pelicans and the star of the show, the seal. The seal was very funny and when it frolicks in the water, the people in front got all wet.

We walked all over the place seeing so many animals and our main objective was to see the hippopotamus, which Emma asked for specially. The white tigers were impressive. The baboons were quite a sight with their red backside. Entering the Butterfly Walk, we hardly saw any butterflies at all. Wonder where they all went to.

We finally got to see the pigmy hippoptamus swimming in the tank. All day Emma kept asking to see them because she saw the movie 'Madagascar'. Having seen the hippopotamus, Emma was quite satisfied. However, she kept complaining about the smell of the many animals. Emma has a very sensitive sense of smell. If the scent does not agree with her, she would throw up. That is why her mother has pastic bags on standby.

By late afternoon, we were all tired as we sat down for a drink, while Emma had her ice cream. To round off the day, Emma got a stuffed hippopotamus toy. All in all, a very enjoyable day spent with Emma at the zoo.

Till then....

Sunny

Last Friday, 29 May, I received the tragic news of the passing of my brother-in-law Sunny, in Trengganu.

It was a shock because Sunny was the youngest of my brothers-in-law and there were no reports of his ill health. True he had a heart condition, but it was not that serious. His eldest brother had it worse and he is still well today.

When I first got married, Sunny moved in to stay with us. It was a joy to have Sunny with us and we spent several happy years together. Sunny was an easy going guy with a very good sense of humour, sharing many funny moments with us. The Mad magazine was his favourite magazine with 'Alfred E. Neuman' (What, me worry) was his favourite character. His favourite singer was Rita Chao, whom we often refer to as R.C.

Sunny was a Technician with Radio Malaysia, later to be known as Radio Television Malaysia or R.T.M. He used to ride a motorcycle until he bought a Fiat 850 motorcar. I remember one morning, he called me on the telephone to tell me that someone had stolen his car. He was very upset and I felt very sorry for him. I contacted my friend, who was with the Police, for help. Fortunately for Sunny, the car was eventually found and returned to him. Luckily the car was not damaged. Several years later, he sold the car and eventually bought over my car, which was only a few months old.

Sunny was posted to Kuala Trengganu after many years in Kuala Lumpur. He was quite upset over the posting but eventually accepted it. After he settled into Trengganu, he got to like the place and the quiet living conditions there. He eventually got married to a local girl and raised his family there.

Due to the distance between us, we never get to meet up frequently, except when we attended some family functions up in Malaysia.

I understand that Sunny had a very bad case of constipation last week. When he tried to clear himself last Friday, he pushed too hard and ruptured some internal organs. He collapsed foaming in his mouth and died when the ambulance arrived. He was buried on Sunday morning.

I mourn the loss of Sunny. May our Lord grant Sunny eternal peace and bring him into His Kingdom. I also pray for Sally and the children, Alex and Audrea that our Lord will help them cope in their hour of grief. Farewell Sunny.

Till then....

My cross is heavy.

Nothing great has been happening since my last posting. I went for my blood testing since I skipped the one last year. The results were good except that my HDL-Cholesterol is high at 76 mg/dl exceeding the maximum of 70. However that is suppose to be the good cholesterol.

The surprising reading was my fasting blood sugar which was at a low of 53 mg/dl beating the reference low of 65. That accounts for my lethargy and irritability. Sometimes when I am reading the newspaper or working on the PC, I can just keel over and fall asleep.

The doctor told me to eat some bread after dinner. Instead I told him I would prefer some ice cream. Actually what I need is a 'Sweet Young Thing' (SYT), to keep me going.

I have been cutting down on my sugar to avoid diabetes and also to control my weight. Ironically now I have to eat something sweet. What kind of a life is this?

A miracle happened last Wednesday, when my wife accompanied me to church for the Ascension Mass and actually sat next to me. This is rare as she usually goes on her own and whether I am there or not, she will not sit with me.

After Mass, she followed me for dinner of rice dumpling and noodles. She told my daughter she did not enjoy that and had trouble swallowing the dumpling. Terrible woman! If it had been her son, she would have vexed lyrical praises over the food. But because it was me, the food was bad. That is why I do not like eating out with my wife because we are so incompatible. One couple leading separate lives. My cross is getting heavier and heavier. My back is about to break.

Yesterday being Sunday, Emma wanted chicken rice for lunch. So we all ended up eating at Ying's Kitchen. Emma finished one bowl of rice and had a cup cake. Kidding her, I asked her whether she wanted duck rice. She insisted on eating chicken rice. So I asked her if she wanted rice and chicken. The smart kid told me that is also okay.

I have been recommending my friends to eat at Ying's Kitchen. Their feedback has been good as I am trying to help my friend Ying to increase her business. I wrote to the ST food columnist Wong Ah Yoke to visit and do a write-up for Ying. He has replied saying that his colleques or himself will visit Ying's. So if you want good traditional Hainanese chicken rice, you know where to go.

To all those lovers of traditional cakes and curry puffs and chicken pies, including the winged cakes, take note that Balmoral Bakery is now re-opened for business in a cleaner environment. Maybe this will bring up my blood sugar level. Unfortunately it is bad for my weight control. This is a cruel world!

Writing this on a Monday morning and at the beginning of a new week, I wonder what the week will bring me. Maybe some kind souls will brighten up my life for me.

Till then....

Nothing!

Ever since my last posting on 8 April, my mind has been as blank as the blog itself. Looking for inspiration to write something, I found nothing. Nothing has eluded me and my mind is nothing. If I see a psychiatrist, he will ask me what is the first thing that comes into my mind. I will tell him, "Nothing". He will think that I am a nincompoop and lock me up in Woodbridge.

The last time I saw a psychiatrist, I was in my air force uniform. Walking towards the psychiatrist office, I met a group of men marching past me. One of them gave me a salute. I returned the compliment and wondered if that was the right thing to do. Who was more insane?

I had just got married and my wedding picture had appeared in the Monday papers front page, the very day that I was in the psychiatrist office. The caption read: 'Fly boy takes hello girl'. My wife was a telephone operator.

I was in the sitting room alone, waiting for my turn, and could not help noticing the front page of the newspaper in front of me. There were two young nurses on duty. Their whispered conversation went like this.

First nurse, "Is that man in the front page today?"

Second nurse, "Yes, he just got married."

First nurse, "Why does he want to see the doctor?"

Second nurse, "Marriage is not easy. I think he does not want to get married after all."

Although I was not seeing the psychiatrist on account of my marriage, that conversation said a lot about me. Until today, I can still remember that incident in the psychiatrist office.

That happened a long time ago. Too long in fact. Now that I am living out my twilight years, it is more like the twilight zone! Life is just as stressful and things are not as rosy as they are made out to be. Things have not gone as well as I was hoping. Not that I am not grateful for the Lord's blessings, there are many things that I find disappointing that I am trying to cope with.

Today, little Emma came after school. Spending time with her brought some cheer into my life. Now that she has gone home, I look forward to seeing her again on Friday. Emma has been very good and close to me. Playing with her has a therapeutic effect on me, although she often plays rough wrestling with me, makes me feel wanted. Emma has a good nature and a good sense of humour. She can amuse me and amaze me with her funny logic. Now is the best time to be with her because when she grows older, she will have nothing to do with this silly old man.

The swine flu or H1N1 flu seems to be retrogressing. I was thinking of quarantining myself because my wife was born in the year of the pig. She snores like a pig too. At least I still have some sense of humour left in me.

It is now almost 10 pm and time for this silly old man to go to bed. Actually with these very hot and humid nights, I look forward to going into my air conditioned bedroom. Tomorrow, I have transport to church and back, in a friend's car. Otherwise the rain and thunderstorm create havoc for me. It is a luxury to go out in a car, because jumping in and out of public buses, is very stressful. And so, good night to whoever who bothers to read my blog.

Till then....

To Phuket and back.

Last Friday (3/4), I left with wife, son and girl friend, for Phuket. Getting up at 0430 in the morning, Ben picked us up at 0530, and by seven, we were airborne. Due to the time difference, we arrived Phuket by 0810 local time.

The reason for the trip was to attend the wedding of a friend's son, a French guy to a Thai girl. The wedding dinner on Saturday was very grand, as can be seen in the picture above. Good food, good wine and good company. The decor was nice, and I was very surprised, to find us sitting on the main table with the bridal couple. We were honoured and humbled to be given this high esteem.

The French was so lessez faire with life there, that the father was wearing shorts and sneakers at the dinner. No one bothered to even put on a tie. The bridegroom wore white slacks and shirt. But the bride, being her big day, was the only one being dressed up. After the champagne toast, there was a lot of boom and bang, as fireworks lit up the sky. A nice closing to the festivities.

The next morning, we were invited for brunch by the Club House, where we had bread, pastries and the remainder of the leftover food.

Besides the wedding, we were able to relax in the villa resort and ate Thai food. As usual, I ate too much. Two days in succession, we went for Thai massage. One of the ladies squeezed me so hard that I had a problem trying to stop my fart. If I had lost control, they would have to evacuate the building. So embarrassing!

The Thais are very laid back people. They are very hospitable. However, their English is hilarious, as can be seen in the last two pictures above. On one of the massage parlours I saw, there was painted in large prints, "I will sleep with you tonight".

On my previous visit to Phuket, I had my entire family with me, and we really had a fantastic time. This time there were just the four of us. I really missed them, especially the kids. I hope the next time I go to Phuket, I will have everyone with me. That would be nice.

Till then....

Drama from Sunrise to Sunset.

Last Saturday (14/3), J decided to lift up a grate to clean the drain underneath. Along came the Princess, Emma, who ran right into it. Sustaining a deep cut on her right foot, she was rushed to KK Hospital.

I was having lunch at Sentosa with wife and son, when I got the news. After lunch, my son brought us to KK Hospital. I saw a rather forlorn looking Emma sitting on her pram with her feet sticking out. The right foot was covered with a white plaster. She had sustained a deep cut between her big toe and second toe.

After her X-ray, she was anesthetized and given eight stitches to seal up the wound. When she was finally discharged, she looked none the worse for her ordeal. She did not cry until they jabbed her (I was told). But she remained very calm throughout.

When we all sat down to eat dinner at the Kopi Tiam, Emma saw the small play area and asked her mother to carry her there. Carefully, she was placed on the floor. Moments later, we were surprised to see Emma standing up supported by the bars on the side. She had overcome the pain by standing on the side of the right foot. Surrounded by everyone, including Sam and Tim, Emma was happy and singing away in the car all the way home.

On Tuesday, Emma spent the day with us. I was surprised to see her walking and almost running around, and noticed that she did all these standing on the side of her right foot. She had overcome a temporary adversity.

In the afternoon, I was playing with Emma on the sofa. She was very happy and was playing rather rough. I had just gone to the toilet, when I heard a heavy object fall on the floor, followed by Emma screaming and crying. I rushed out to find that Emma was playing by the grotto, and a brick had accidentally fallen on her left foot. This time she was really in pain and I got very worried for her.

Fearing for the worse, J took Emma to Gleneagles where they x-rayed her left foot. There was no visible fracture and they dressed her bruises and bandaged her foot.

The following Wednesday, Emma spent the day with us. With both feet bandaged, she was not able to walk. We were advised by the doctors to observe when she would start to walk again. Otherwise, Emma would have to go to Gleneagles by Friday for further treatment. By afternoon we were trying to coax Emma to walk, but she told us she was still in pain.

Throughout the day, Emma was very happy and cheerful and even played rough with me on the sofa. She found a way of sliding around kneeling on a cushion.

Thursday, Emma was not with us and spent the day with her aunt and cousins. I have been told that Emma had started to walk again and was her usual mischievous self again.

As I am trying to close this posting on Saturday morning, Emma had spent yesterday with us. She was able to walk again but insisted on being carried when she felt like it. Playing by the metal gate, she had accidentally slam her fingers and began crying. I guess she is as accident-prone as her mother. When her mother was very young, I was playing with her, and when I gave her a hug, I found I had accidentally dislocated her shoulder. Like mother, like daughter!

Yesterday, I had a fun day with Emma at home, as I always do. She was up to her mischievous antics and wrestled with me on the sofa. I expressed my concern about Emma's left foot to J, and hope he will take appropriate medical action, because next week, school re-opens, and Emma will be back to school. Life at home is very dull, until Emma comes and bring some fun and cheers to a lonely old man.

Till then....

Karaoke

Yes, I am crazy enough to go out and buy a karaoke set. This thought has been buzzing round my head for some time now, after seeing some of my friends singing away, and my neighbour Stephen inviting me to his place to join in the singing.

So I ventured out to Sim Lim Square and bought one. The set included two wireless microphone with buttons to select tunes and functions. It has a console and remote control. The whole thing comes in a carrying case like a laptop, and is portable. I can carry it anywhere and set it up as long as there is a television available. The hard disk and SD card hold a repertoire of 27,000 songs. Besides English songs, there were Chinese, Tagaloc, Vietnamese, Indonesian and some Spanish songs.

The first person to use the microphone was the Princess - Emma. She was thrilled to sing into the microphone and had a fun day with it. There were some nursery tunes in the repertoire and she enjoyed singing them. She even sang a song she picked up from the maid.

Despite my love for music from the classical to the oldies, except the contemporary noisy pop songs, I made the amazing discovery that my singing is simply horrible! Luckily there was no one to hear me, as I made my debut in trying to sing. I ran out of voice! What to do? I guess I will have to sing quietly without the microphone. Any one for a song?

Till then....

Lent

It is now the last day of February. My last posting was 14 February, 2009. There is nothing much to write about since. I am stressed out due to domestic problems. Got to find an outlet somewhere.

I am still trying to shed my extra weight. This week, I have not been able to go to the track due to the afternoon rain. Last week was good and I went three times.

Venturing on the track, I ended up in Jurong, the Ayer Raja Expressway near the Business Centre. It took me about 20 minutes of brisk walk. I felt good after that which relieved some of my stress.

Yesterday (27/2), I took Emma to the new playground by the bridge. She enjoyed herself so much and told me it was indeed a fun day. We walked across the bridge and Emma saw the river, the Herons and experienced the echo effect, when we were under the metal roof. Due to the acoustics, it gave off an echo, and Emma was thrilled to hear her voice coming off the echo. So she jumped and screamed.

Across the bridge, she stepped off to play with the 'shy grass', the ones that closes when touched. Running around the tall grass, she was so happy. Pity I did not have my camera with me. Nevertheless, there were two very happy people out there yesterday.

Getting home, Emma was very tired and threw a tantrum over some trivial matter when she had her shower. She finally took her nap, and later in the evening, was her usual self again. Having Emma with me certainly relieved me of some of my stress and depression.

I was supposed to have roasted a duck, and cooked a seafood concoction of my own, for dinner today, but with the rumbling and grumbling from the wife, I gave that up.

Last Saturday, we had a very nice impromptu family dinner. My son was away. Fortunately the wife did not grumble, when I went and bought three dishes back from the Ji Char stall. I had often told the wife that this is a good alternative to cooking at home, but she does not agree with me.

And so we come to a new month and the first quarter of 2009. Time is passing and the financial crisis weighs heavily on us. What comes next, nobody knows.

Till then....

Got to lose it!

Chinese New Year has come and gone but my weight has stayed. I have put on something like 3 kg. So I now have to lose all that and return to my pre-Christmas and Chinese New Year weight of 64 kg.

When I looked at the mirror in my bathroom, I looked terribly awful. My son has just as big a girth, and he plays tennis. Little Emma has developed a rounded belly. Whenever I tickled her, she breaks out into giggles. She is actually quite proud of it, and often makes fun of herself showing it off, distending it more.

For the past week, I have returned to my brisk walk on the jogging track. The last time I did that was June last year, before my house move. After my house move, I was happy that my weight had dropped to 64 kg.

The new jogging track here is nice. It is perhaps a little longer than my previous track. It is not flat but undulating having to make that extra effort in coping with the gradient. There are more trees here, with the track leading into the fitness corner, tucked away in an open space. The trees provide a nice and cool shade. It is possible to even have a picnic under the trees, for there are stools and benches provided.

And so with the pleasant surrounding, I ventured out last Monday afternoon. In one hour, I completed four and a half laps. I felt very relieved after that and all my stiffness went away driving away my depressive mood. The workout made me perspire and although I was tired, I felt high. I was to repeat all that on Wednesday and Thursday. I feel that with this new regime, I should be able to lose that extra kg. Now I can tell my doctor that I have resumed my walking exercise.

My appetite is still good and I am trying to control my snacking which contributes to my weight gain.

On the cooking front, my roast pork has improved and last Saturday, my roast pork was crunchy and nice. The pork was roasted on the rotisserie, which seem to make the difference. I have several ideas in mind and hope to roast a duck when I can find people to eat it. This evening I have to roast a chicken.

Till then....

Kung Hei Fatt Choy

Kung Hei Fatt Choy to one and all.

We are about in the middle of the festival. Tomorrow is the 7th Day of Chinese New Year. To the Cantonese, this is the 'Day of Humanities', which means every body's birthday. On this day, it is traditional for the Cantonese to eat 'Yee Sheng', raw fish, and glutinous rice balls. Nowadays, 'Yee Sheng' is consumed throughout the festival.

This year's Reunion Dinner, on 25/1, was held at a seafood restaurant near where I live. It went off very well and everyone were fed full. Despite the crowd, the food quality was good and the service did not suffer much, plus the convenience of parking space and within walking distance to my place. Everyone adjourned to my place after dinner.

On the first day, 26/1, everyone congregated to my place by lunchtime, for the traditional visit to the Lee's Mansion for lunch. The family has been doing this for years as a gesture to my very good friends Liz and Kip. I have known Liz since our school days and she has been part of my family all these years. We enjoyed our younger days when my sister was still alive, and Liz used to stay overnight and she was always included in our family functions. Liz has not been in good health due very much to her obesity, and it was disheartening to see her on a wheel chair periodically. Kip himself has aged and is a little better off than Liz, albeit being much older.

It was also good that during the lunch, I was able to catch up with my brother, whom I very seldom meet up. As I looked at him and he looked at me, we realised how much we have both aged.

During the lunch, I was very impressed by my little Emma, who sportingly went up to the microphone to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", twice over. We all felt very proud of her and I recorded her singing on my Handycam on HDMI as well. The previous evening, I had recorded her singing several tunes including her now famous "Hug! The Herald Angel Sing". When I reviewed the video, I felt a lump in my throat.

After dinner that day, my son swiftly left for Spain on a holiday with his new girl friend.

Last night, 30/1, Jason and Karen held their house warming. Earlier, I had lunch with Joe and Jenny, who later in the evening drove us there. Although I have been to the new place, one right turn eluded me and I ended up lost. Lucky for mobile phones, we were eventually directed to the right house. Even Uncle Ben, who knows every streets, got lost. Yet another feast, which did not help me in trying to control my weight. I shot the event with my Handycam and I suddenly realised that my other 'little' Samantha is no longer little, as she has now grown up as a teenager. Timothy is just as crazy with the television and his video games. I wish he can be better behaved and stop getting into trouble.

I was told that there was a Lion Dance at three yesterday afternoon, which frightened little Emma, who ran crying up into her room. What a pity.

Today, being a Saturday, I was alone at home and decided to call Denis for lunch at Empress Market. I had wanted to taste the new stall selling beef hor fun. Supposedly from Hock Lam Street, which was famous for this noodle, I was disappointed. The soup was mild and lukewarm, unlike the original with its fiery pepper. My Godfather joined us and gave the noodles a thumbs down as well. At $5.00 a bowl, it is over priced.

After the lunch, I went out to Rochore with Denis and bought some roast pork home. See again, food and more food! This stall has been selling very good roast duck and roast pork. I also bought my medication, which was the main purpose of the trip. Honest! Boarding the bus home and after a few stops, who should get in but my wife and her friend. Singapore is not that big after all. Luckily I was not involved in any 'hanky panky'. On reaching home, I was able to convince the wife that I will buy a Hainanese chicken for dinner to complement the roast pork. My daughter and her two kids were coming home for dinner.

Till then....

Hello 2009

It is now 20th January, 2009, and my mind has not quite settled into the new year.

As I write this, I am nursing a cough and cold, ironically shortly after I had my flu shot, given by my GP. Last Thursday, I had lunch with Fr. T.O.N. and a friend at the Club, and after the lunch, I felt sick with a sore throat. By Friday, I was coughing and felt the effects of a cold. There was no fever though. So I decided to take the cold relief tablets. Although I was not all that sick, I started having urinating problems.

Yesterday, I saw my GP, who advised me that the cold relief tablets that I took has a side effect of enlarged prostrate. No wonder I suffered for that. I am now on alternative medication from my GP. Today, I rested at home and I am glad that the effects of the previous medication is wearing off and my prostrate is slowly returning to normal. But I still sound like a frog. I have since warned some of my elderly male friends, against taking such medication off the shelf.

I have been cooking lately, since my Christmas turkey. On New Year's day, I roasted a rolled pork, using the long low temperature method. It took me four and a half hours of low temperature roasting. Unfortunately, there was not much fat and the pork turned out rather dry. It would have been alright, if we had eaten straight after roasting, but left it quite late and by that time, the meat had dried up considerably.

Last weekend, I again roasted belly pork. This time it was nice and the skin was crispy. In addition I also roasted a chicken. The family enjoyed the dinner. If I keep cooking, I hope to improve in time.

My little Emma, who has now been called 'Princess', has been hogging the limelight in the family. She really enjoyed the Christmas season and had wished that it would never end. She was finally able to sing the "Hark, The Herald Angel Sing", from start to finish.

She started Nursery School this year and had the privilege of Uncle Ben fetching her from school. On the days that she came to us after school, she was very happy, singing and dancing. Even my neighbour called her 'Chilly Padi'. On every family gathering, she has been the star and live wire.

I have another problem now. With all the eating, I have gained weight. I must now cut down to my pre-Christmas days. But with Chinese New Year next week, this is going to be tough. Kicking off the celebrations will be our family reunion dinner at a restaurant near we live. This will be followed by the perennial Chinese New Year lunch at the mansion of the Lee family. Goodness gracious me, what shall I do?

Till then....